There's something big and toothy lurking beneath the still waters of Black Lake and, before a diver can say 'Glug!', there's a snap and crackle and half of him pops to the surface.

This is an old-fashioned creature feature, treated to a very humorous if foul-tongued script that constantly allows the actors to snipe at each other, as well as at a 30-foot Asiatic crocodile that never bites off more than it can chew - and makes mincemeat, in vivid special effects sequences, of a cow and a bear.

Such stars as Bill Pullman (fish and games warden), Bridget Fonda (palaeontologist), Oliver Platt (mythologist! ) and Brendan Gleeson (the sheriff) obviously detected the script had even more bite than the croc: each gets their fair share of its meat.

Especially funny is the running feud between the equally sarcastic Platt and Gleeson. 'Is this the man who was killed? ' asks Platt, holding up a severed toe. 'Huh,' grunts Gleeson. 'He seemed taller.'